Then He Kissed Me Read Free

Lauren, your mother tells me you own your own boutique.” He eyed her dress. “A nostalgia shop?”
    Didn’t they already have this conversation back at her house?  “A retro boutique,” she clarified, taking a sip of the wine. “I sell authentic vintage clothing.”
    “Ah. I get it. The outfit is advertising.” He raised his glass to her. “Smart business woman.”
    “Yes, well, I sell what I enjoy wearing.”
    “So what’s your place called? I’ll have to go check it out sometime.”
    “Can Buy Me Love. It’s right next door to The Bistro by the Beach.”
    “Can Buy Me Love, huh? That’s my motto!” He emptied his glass and waved a waitress over to the table. “Bring me another one of these, will you, sweetheart? And we’re ready to order now.”
    It was official. She was definitely ordering the most expensive entree on the menu. It seemed like a petty revenge, but Ted could certainly afford it and it made the idea of the rest of the evening a little more palatable. The waitress had just finished taking their orders when the hostess escorted a couple to the reserved table by the water. The woman was a pretty redhead in her mid-twenties and the man… Lauren was startled to see it was Nate Miller.
    Lauren had gone to high school with Nate, but they hadn’t been friends. Their graduating class had only a hundred or so students and Lauren had prided herself on being friendly to everyone. She’d even had a few classes with Nate, but he’d been the studious sort who kept his head low and grade point average high. In high school, he’d been tall and lanky and worn wire rim glasses. He’d recently completed his medical residency and was back home practicing with Doc Morrison, Whispering Bay’s only physician.
    Lauren studied him out of the corner of her eye. Discreetly, of course. He was even taller than she remembered and he’d filled out in the shoulders. He still wore glasses, but they were the type of designer frames you’d see a man wear in one of those expensive magazine cologne ads. The kind that said you won’t be sorry when I take these off . His brown hair was short and still the tiniest bit unruly, but that was probably because it had some natural curl to it.  
    Their paths had crossed a few times since he’d moved back to town, but other than the barest tip of his head in her direction, he never really acknowledged her. Lauren had begun to refer to it as “the nod.” Of course, she hadn’t really done much more than nod back herself. It wasn’t that she was being rude. It was just that they had nothing to say to one another.
    Tonight he wore a dark blue suit and he looked sharp. He pulled out a chair for his date, then went around the table to his own seat, and in doing so, caught Lauren’s eye. He blinked and tipped his head slightly in acknowledgment (there was the nod!). Lauren smiled back, then quickly averted her gaze and reached out for her wine glass. Expensive restaurant, chilled champagne, roses, and a suit. The hostess had said the table was reserved for a special occasion. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what that special occasion was. It looked like the restaurant was in for a big romantic treat tonight.
    Their salads came up first and Lauren dug in. This would have been the time in her night when Jimmy Stewart would be running down the streets of Pottersville, horrified to find what his hometown would have been like if he’d never been born. It was Lauren’s favorite part of the movie. She sighed.
    “As I was saying,” Ted said, “too bad this town is stuck in another century. If my company had been allowed to build here, your little antique shop would be sitting pretty.”
    What ? She’d completely lost track of the conversation. “It’s a vintage clothing shop.” It was at least the third time she’d corrected him on that.
    “Isn’t that what I said? Anyway, I moved on. You know, there are places around here that appreciate a man like me. What’s